Author: INDEPENDENT

Get the latest entertainment news, reviews and star-studded interviews with our Independent Culture emailGet the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter The 2026 Tony Awards, celebrating the best of Broadway plays and musicals from the last year, have been awarded.Sunday night at New York City’s Radio City Music Hall, hundreds of nominees and famous faces assembled to celebrate the 2025-2026 Broadway season. After the first part of the ceremony, The Tony Awards: Act One, revealed a slew of winners in the technical and creative categories, the national broadcast…

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emailsSign up to our free breaking news emailsSign up to our free breaking news emailsStrikes by shipyard workers will risk more delays to Clyde-built warships, unions have warned.GMB Scotland said support staff supplying tools, materials and equipment for BAE Systems shipyards on the upper Clyde will strike on Monday after rejecting a three-year pay offer.The union said that planned strikes by shipyard workers employed by GXO Logistics will risk disrupting the already-delayed construction of HMS Glasgow, the first of eight Type 26…

Get the latest entertainment news, reviews and star-studded interviews with our Independent Culture emailGet the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter When she was small, Leila Farzad spent every summer in Iran, hanging out at her grandma’s house and eating peaches and plums from the trees. The actor was born and raised in London, but this was her parents’ homeland, so it was a confusing shift each time her flight landed on the hot tarmac. “It was so familiar yet foreign,” she says. “It’s that strange thing of…

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emailsSign up to our free breaking news emailsSign up to our free breaking news emailsThe Government should not regulate flexible jobs “out of existence” with reforms which will scrap zero-hours contracts, retail industry leaders have warned.Last week, ministers laid out details for proposals which could ensure guaranteed hours for workers.It started a consultation over potential new rules which would require employers to offer staff on zero hours or short hours contracts a minimum number of hours each week on regular working hours.The…

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emailsSign up to our free breaking news emailsSign up to our free breaking news emailsThe FTSE 100 clung on to modest gains on Friday despite weak mining stocks but Wall Street headed south after stronger-than-expected jobs data increased chances of a rate hike across the pond.The FTSE 100 closed up 7.73 points, 0.1%, at 10,368.05. The FTSE 250 ended down 241.91 points, 1.0%, at 23,060.74, while the AIM All-Share fell 10.99 points, 1.4%, to 797.27.For the week, the FTSE 100 fell 0.4%,…

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emailsSign up to our free breaking news emailsSign up to our free breaking news emailsA healthy soft drinks company, a campervan conversion specialist and an electric bike manufacturer have been named among the UK’s most promising small businesses at a national awards ceremony in London.Eight winners of the 2026 Small Business Growth Awards, run by HSBC UK in partnership with the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), were announced at The Savoy on Thursday after attracting around 2,800 entries from across the country.The…

Get the latest entertainment news, reviews and star-studded interviews with our Independent Culture emailGet the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter The Edinburgh Festival Fringe has unveiled its extensive programme for 2024, promising a vibrant array of 3,649 shows across 258 venues, tackling everything from artificial intelligence to the manosphere.Running from August 7 to 31, the world’s largest arts festival will host a staggering 53,884 performances. This year’s offerings delve into contemporary issues such as cults and social class, alongside the aforementioned AI and manosphere discussions, ensuring a…

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emailsSign up to our free breaking news emailsSign up to our free breaking news emailsThe FTSE 100 closed lower on Wednesday amid renewed strength in oil prices as hopes for peace in the Middle East faded once more amid renewed fighting between the US and Iran.The FTSE 100 closed down 41.21 points, or 0.4%, at 10,332.30. The FTSE 250 ended down 192.07 points, 0.8%, at 23,186.29, while the AIM All-Share fell 11.08 points, 1.4%, to 807.24.Oil prices climbed amid escalations in the…

Get the latest entertainment news, reviews and star-studded interviews with our Independent Culture emailGet the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter In any other profession, kissing your co-worker hundreds of times a day would be an HR issue – but in the world of acting, it’s often a job requirement. Actors have been kissing one another on stage for centuries, and most have kept it strictly professional, but many famously haven’t. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie fell in love while playing a married couple in Mr & Mrs…

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emailsSign up to our free breaking news emailsSign up to our free breaking news emailsSouth West Water Ltd has been handed a record fine of almost £2m for supplying water unfit for human consumption after a parasitic outbreak in Devon.The company pleaded guilty to an offence under s70(1) of the Water Industry Act 1991 over the contamination of water by cryptosporidium, a parasite which causes sickness and diarrhoea.Exeter Magistrates’ Court heard there were 537 probable or confirmed cases of cryptosporidiosis, with at…